MV Oceana (previously Ocean Princess) is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. At over 77,000 tonnes, Oceana is the fifth largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. She entered service with the company in November 2002 and was named by HRH the Princess Royal in 2003.
Oceana is a sister ship to Sea Princess (which served in the P&O Cruises fleet as Adonia between 2003 and 2005), Sun Princess and Pacific Explorer, all of which are Sun-Class cruise ships.

History

Oceana is a Sun class cruise ship owned by Carnival Corporation & plc, and operated by P&O Cruises. She was built in 2000 by the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.

Ocean Princess

Oceana was originally ordered by P&O to serve in the Princess Cruises fleet. She was named by Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal and entered service as Ocean Princess on 16 February 2000. During the winter season, Ocean Princess was positioned in the southern Caribbean, while in summer she operated in Alaskan waters. Shortly after her launch, P&O demerged its cruise ship operations and Ocean Princess came under the ownership of P&O Princess Cruises, whilst continuing to serve in the Princess Cruises fleet.

Oceana

In November 2002, Ocean Princess entered service with P&O Cruises, operating from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her official naming ceremony took place in Southampton, England on 21 May 2003. The naming ceremony was the first double ship naming in history and saw Ocean Princess renamed Oceana, with sister ship Sea Princess becoming Adonia. The naming was performed by HRH the Princess Royal. and her daughter Zara Philips.

In 2003, P&O Princess Cruises merged with Carnival Corporation. As a result, Oceana came under the ownership of Carnival UK, but continued to operate with the P&O Cruises fleet. Sister ship Adonia later returned to the Princess Cruises fleet and reacquired her original name, Sea Princess.

In summer, the vessel sails from Southampton in the United Kingdom to the Mediterranean and Scandinavia. In the northern winter, Oceana berths in Barbados; sailing through the Caribbean and to Central America.

During the two-week period of 28 March 2008 – 11 April 2008, Oceana underwent a refit at Lloyd Werft shipyard as part of the P&O Cruises elevation programme.

Oceana underwent another refit on 5 December 2012 which lasted 15 days. Passenger cabins and some public areas were refurbished.

Between 29 November and 17 December 2017, Oceana underwent a £31 million refit at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg. Technical work and public area refurbishment were undertaken.

Facilities

Oceana has 10 passenger decks.

Passenger facilities include 12 places to drink and 4 restaurants, including an open-air restaurant and Cafe Jardin. Other notable features include a gym, sports court, casino, golf simulator, family facilities, a spa and 4 swimming pools. The main entertainment venue is the 530 seat Footlights Theatre.